Lesson 3: The Office Drawing Tools
3
75
THE OFFICE DRAWING TOOLS
LEARNING OUTCOMES
In the second word processing tutorial you learned how to work with a longer document (the
Term Paper). You practiced inserting page numbers, formatting text, using the indent markers,
creating sections and columns of text, finding and replacing text, moving and copying text,
putting borders around blocks of text, and wrapping text around pictures or charts.
After completing lessons one and two, you should be beginning to think of yourself as
reasonably proficient at word processing, but there is still much to learn. In this tutorial you will
be introduced to functions of Word that are especially useful when working with images
(pictures, charts, and so forth). The set of Word drawing tools is extensive, easy to use, and
powerful in the sense that they enable anyone to create good quality images or designs for a
multitude of practical applications. Teachers, in particular, should familiarize themselves with
these drawing tools, not only for their own purposes, such as the preparation of handouts for
class, but also so they can teach the tools to their students so they, too, can use them for project
work of all kinds.
Lesson three thus will cover the following topics.
ESSENTIAL MICROSOFT OFFICE XP: Tutorial for Teachers
Copyright © Bernard Poole, Lorrie Jackson, Rebecca Randall, 2002. All rights reserved
76
y
y
y
y
y
y
y
y
y
overview of the tools available for drawing
drawing, moving, rotating, resizing, and otherwise editing simple shapes and lines
AutoShapes
selecting one or more objects at once—overlapping, ordering, aligning, and rotating
objects
using colors, patterns, and other visual effects
grouping, ordering, and aligning objects
working with text and word art
working with diagrams, organization charts, clip art, and other images
bringing it all together—creating a class newsletter
A caveat before you begin: You'll find it easiest to use the tutorial if you follow the directions
carefully. On computers there are always other ways of doing things, but if you wander off on
your own be sure you know your way back!
3.1 GETTING STARTED
This tutorial is designed to give you practice working with the drawing tools that are built into
the various Office applications, including Word. Drawings that you create in one Office
application such as Word, can be easily copied and pasted into other Office applications, such as
PowerPoint or Excel.
The only way to learn the skills required to get the most out of the drawing tools is to use
them. This lesson will get you started in that direction, introducing you to all the tools and
showing you how to work with them. But if you want to become proficient, you will need to
work with them as much as possible and experiment with ideas of your own for applying the
tools in the creation of art work of all kinds.
Perhaps you already have a natural flair for drawing, in which case you will especially love
these tools. But even if you think you don’t have a flair for drawing, you may discover, as you
become adept in the use of the drawing tools, that you have more ability than you ever dreamed.
Showing the Full menus and organizing the Toolbars
Microsoft Office has an odd habit of showing only a few items in the menus when you want to
access a menu option. If you want to see the full menus, you have to double click on the menu
name, or slide down to the arrows at the bottom of the menu, or, worse still, wait for the full
menu to reveal itself, which it will after a few seconds.
But for this tutorial, we're going to be using quite a few menu items that do not normally
appear when you first click to select a menu. So let's set the Option in Word to Show Full Menus
all the time.
While you're at it, it's a good idea to set the options for Show the Standard and formatting
toolbars on two rows, List font names in their own font, and Show ScreenTips on toolbars. You
may recall doing this at the beginning of Lesson 1.
Open Word then click to close the right hand Task Pane since you won’t be
needing it for this tutorial
77
Lesson 3: The Office Drawing Tools
In the Tools menu, select Customize…, then in the dialog box that pops up,
select the Options tab (Fig. 3.1 next page)
Make sure there is a check mark next to the item to Always show full menus
While you're at it, check the box next to Show Standard and Formatting toolbars
on two rows, List font names in their font, and Show ScreenTips on toolbars
Click the Close button when you're ready
Fig. 3.1 The Customize dialog box
There, now you'll get the full menus all the time. If you find this tip useful, and you're working a
lab where you can't permanently set defaults like this, remember to show full menus when you
start work using any of the programs in the Office suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Access, and
so forth). If you have your own computer at home, you might like to permanently set this Show
Full menus option. It'll save you no end of time and annoyance.
Displaying the Drawing toolbar
When the Drawing toolbar (Fig. 3.2) is open, it is usually displayed at the bottom of the Word
window (lower left, above the Start button).
Check to see that you have the Drawing toolbar displayed on your screen
Use this
menu to
adjust a
drawing
object
Use this Use this
Selection menu to
Tool to select preselect
defined
drawing drawing
objects
objects
Use these Use these
tools to
tools to
draw
draw
lines or rectangles
or ovals
arrows
Use these
tools for
text or
Word Art
Use these
tools to
insert
clip art
or other
images
Use these
tools to add
color or
other
effects
to drawing
objects
Fig. 3.2 The Drawing toolbar (annotated)
Use this
tool to
select a
color
for
Use these
tools to
adjust line
or arrow
styles
Use these
tools to
create
shaded and
3-D objects
78
ESSENTIAL MICROSOFT OFFICE XP: Tutorial for Teachers
Copyright © Bernard Poole, Lorrie Jackson, Rebecca Randall, 2002. All rights reserved
If you do not see the Drawing toolbar, from the View menu select Toolbars,
then in the Toolbars sub-menu make sure that you put a check mark next
to Drawing
Changing the Page Orientation
There are two possible orientations for a page in Microsoft Word—portrait and landscape. You
want landscape orientation for the exercises that follow. Here is how you select one or the other.
From the File menu select Page Setup
Make sure the Margins tab is selected in the Page Setup dialog box (Fig.
3.3), and in the Orientation section of the dialog box, click on the Landscape
icon, then click on OK
Fig. 3.3 The Page Setup dialog box, showing the page orientation icons
In order to see how landscape orientation looks, go to the Standard toolbar at
the top of the window, click on the zoom tool (Fig 3.4), and zoom out to 75%
Fig. 3.4 The Zoom tool in the Standard toolbar
This will allow you to see the whole page at one time on the screen Notice that landscape
orientation turns the page on its side. This mirrors the orientation of the computer screen and
often makes it easier for you when you are working with drawing objects. Use the zoom tool to
zoom in and out of the page. Zoom out when you need to see the page as a whole; zoom in when
you want to work in detail on a particular object in your drawing.
Lesson 3: The Office Drawing Tools
79
In the sections that follow, you will practice doing this, and using most of the tools in the
Drawing toolbar. Then, in the final section (3.7 BRINGING IT ALL TOGETHER—CREATING
A CLASS NEWSLETTER), you will have the opportunity to show your prowess by working
with a selection of the tools to put together a class newsletter.]
3.2 DRAWING, MOVING, ROTATING, RESIZING, AND OTHERWISE
EDITING SIMPLE SHAPES AND LINES
Working with a drawing canvas
In this section, you will learn how to work with a drawing canvas (Fig. 3.5).
Fig. 3.5 The drawing canvas
80
ESSENTIAL MICROSOFT OFFICE XP: Tutorial for Teachers
Copyright © Bernard Poole, Lorrie Jackson, Rebecca Randall, 2002. All rights reserved
You also will practice creating drawing objects using both the basic drawing tools for lines and
rectangles and ovals, as well as some of the auto shapes available from the AutoShapes menu. If
you are unsure where to find a particular tool, check Fig. 3.2 above.
Drawing lines
Let's start with lines.
In the Drawing toolbar, click on the line object to select it
Word immediately displays a shaded box on the page, inviting you to "create your drawing
here". This box is called a drawing canvas (see Fig. 3.4 on the previous page).
Use the mouse to draw a line object inside the drawing canvas (as illustrated
in Fig. 3.5 above)
You don't have to use the canvas for your drawing. If you start drawing something outside the
border of the canvas, the canvas will disappear off the screen, and you can proceed without it.
But it is often useful to use the drawing canvas because the various objects you draw on the
canvas (inside the shaded box) are thus treated as a single object when you are working with the
canvas as a whole (moving it around on the page, copying it or pasting it, for example).
The initial dimensions of the canvas are set by default. You can change the dimensions to
suit your own purposes. To do this, you use the handles that appear at the corners of the canvas
and at the center of each side. Try this now.
Use the mouse pointer to grab any handle and drag it in or out to stretch or
shrink the drawing canvas. End up with the size of the drawing canvas an
inch or so less than the overall size of the page, as illustrated in Fig. 3.4
Working with the lines and arrows
Complete the following tasks to learn how to draw different styles of lines and arrows.
Position the mouse pointer anywhere on the line and notice how the cursor
changes to a crosshair
Click anywhere off the line and notice that the handles (little circles) at each
end of the line disappear
You can only edit or move a drawing object such as a line if the handles are showing. The
handles indicate that the object is selected. Clicking ON the object selects it; clicking OFF the
object deselects it.
Click anywhere on the line now, and notice that the handles (little circles) at
each end reappear
Now, with the handles showing, you can edit the line.
Use your mouse pointer to locate the Line Style tool on the Drawing toolbar
Click on it to show the pop up menu of line styles and select several of them
one after the other to try out different styles and thicknesses for the line
Now use your mouse pointer to locate the Dash Style tool on the Drawing
toolbar
Click on it to show the pop up menu of dash styles and select several of
them one after the other to try out the different dash styles
Lesson 3: The Office Drawing Tools
81
Next, Use your mouse pointer to locate the Arrow Style tool on the Drawing
toolbar
Click on it to show the pop up menu of arrow styles and select several of
them one after the other to try out different arrow styles
You can also draw arrows using the arrow tool, which is immediately to the right of the line tool
(Fig. 3.3). You can then use the arrow style tool to edit it.
When you are done editing the line, hit the Backspace key or the Del key to
delete it from the drawing canvas
Working with rectangles and ovals
Creating and editing lines is simple enough. How about other shapes, such as rectangles or
ovals?
Locate the Rectangle tool in the Drawing toolbar, click on it to select it, and
use the mouse to draw a rectangle on the canvas
Notice the eight handles that surround the shape, four in the corners and four at the middle of
each side. Notice, too, the ninth handle—a small green circle (Fig. 3.6).
Fig. 3.6 The handles that accompany solid shapes such as ovals or rectangles
82
ESSENTIAL MICROSOFT OFFICE XP: Tutorial for Teachers
Copyright © Bernard Poole, Lorrie Jackson, Rebecca Randall, 2002. All rights reserved
Rotating Objects
This small green handle enables you to rotate the shape very precisely either clockwise or
counter-clockwise. Try this now.
Use the mouse to point at the small green handle (the rotate object handle)
and drag from left to right or vice versa to rotate the rectangle object
While you have the rectangle selected, use the line style tool to change the
border of the shape to 6 pt triple line
When you are done editing the rectangle shape, hit the Backspace key or the
Del key to delete it from the drawing canvas
Now for the Oval tool.
Locate the Oval tool in the Drawing toolbar, click on it to select it, and use
the mouse to draw an oval on the canvas
Notice again the small green handle that enables you to rotate the shape. Try this now.
Use the mouse to point at the small green handle (the rotate object handle)
and drag from left to right or vice versa to rotate the oval object
While you have the oval shape selected, use the line style tool to change the
border of the shape to 6 pt
When you are done editing the oval shape, hit the Backspace key or the Del
key to delete it from the drawing canvas
Drawing a perfect square, circle, or other geometric object
If you want to draw a perfect square or a perfect circle, you must hold down the shift key while
you draw with the rectangle tool or the oval tool. Try this now.
Select the Rectangle tool, hold down the shift key, and draw a rectangle of
any size
Notice that it'll always be a square as long as you hold down the shift key.
Delete the square shape
Select the Oval tool, hold down the shift key, and draw an oval of any size
Once again, notice that it'll always be a perfect circle as long as you hold down the shift key. Use
the Shift key to draw any perfect geometric shape, such as an equilateral triangle, pentagon,
hexagon, octagon, and so forth.
Moving drawing objects
Creating and editing lines and other shapes is simple enough. How about moving them around
on the drawing canvas? To do this, the line or rectangle or other drawing object must be first
selected so you can see the handles.
Slide the mouse pointer over the Circle and notice that the pointer changes to
a crosshair
Hold down the left mouse button and drag to move the circle anywhere you
like
Resizing drawing objects
Lesson 3: The Office Drawing Tools
83
How about resizing drawing objects—changing their size and shape? To do this, the line or
rectangle or other drawing object must be first selected so you can see the handles.
Make sure the Circle from the previous exercise is still selected—you should
be able to see the handles around it
You must use a combination of the Shift key and one of the four corner handles (not the 4
handles on the sides and top and bottom) if you want to keep the shape perfectly circular and not
distort it into an oval. Try this first.
Hold down the Shift key, then position the mouse pointer on one of the small
white handles in a corner of the shape (not the green rotate handle), hold
down the left mouse button and drag in or out to stretch or squeeze the
circle
Notice that the shape keeps its regularity as a perfect circle. You can use any of the handles
without holding down the Shift key if you're not concerned about distorting the circle into an
oval. Try this now.
Position the mouse pointer on any of the small white handles, hold down the
left mouse button and drag to stretch or squeeze the circle anyway you
want
The same thing applies to rectangular or irregular shapes such as polygons in general or freeform
drawings. When you click on the shape, it shows the handles around it. Hold down the Shift key
and grab one of the handles in the corners and you can make the shape smaller or larger without
distorting it. Grab any of the handles around the shape without simultaneously pressing the Shift
key and you can distort the shape by making it thinner or fatter, taller or shorter, whatever.
Try this now.
Make sure the Circle/Oval is selected—you should be able to see the
handles around it—then hit the Backspace key to delete it
In the Drawing toolbar select the Rectangle tool, and draw a rectangle on
the canvas
Position the mouse pointer on any of the small white handles (not the green
rotate handle), hold down the left mouse button and drag to stretch or
squeeze the rectangle anyway you want
Now try it again, but this time hold down the Shift key, and notice the
difference between using the corner handles or the handles at the middle
of each side
When you are done practicing, hit the Backspace key to delete the rectangle
shape
Editing (changing the shape or orientation of) straight lines or arrows
Editing a straight line or an arrow works a little differently than solid shapes such as ovals,
polygons, or other irregular shapes, since you only have two handles to worry about—one at
either end of the line or arrow. You use either of the handles to lengthen or shorten the line. You
also drag on either handle to rotate it from either end. Try this now.
84
ESSENTIAL MICROSOFT OFFICE XP: Tutorial for Teachers
Copyright © Bernard Poole, Lorrie Jackson, Rebecca Randall, 2002. All rights reserved
Use the Line tool to draw a straight line anywhere on the drawing canvas,
then grab a hold of the handle at either end and drag the handle in or out,
up or down, so you can get a feel for how to change the length and
orientation of the line
Delete the line before we move on to the next section
3.3 AUTOSHAPES
There is an item called AutoShapes in the Drawing toolbar which makes available quite a nice
selection of pre-defined shapes for lines, connectors, arrows, flowchart symbols, and so forth.
Locate the AutoShapes tool in the Drawing toolbar and click on it to view the
AutoShapes pop up menu (Fig. 3.7)
Fig. 3.7 The AutoShapes menu
Spend a few minutes checking out the many shapes available to you, and try as
many of them as you have time for, so you can see how easy they are to use
Clear any objects you create from off the page when you're done practicing with
the AutoShapes
Why go to all the trouble of creating your own shapes when many of them are already designed
for you. You could use these shapes with a class to help them learn the geometric shapes, right?
This is included as one of the exercises in the SKILLS CONSOLIDATION section at the end of
the lesson.
3.4 USING COLORS, PATTERNS, AND OTHER VISUAL EFFECTS
Colors and transparencies
The Word drawing tools give you lots of control over colors, patterns, and other visual effects,
such as shadows and 3-D. Let's start with colors and transparencies. Fig. 3.8 illustrates the Fill
Color options dialog box that pops up when you click on the small arrow next to the Fill Color
tool in the Drawing Toolbar.
Lesson 3: The Office Drawing Tools
85
Fig 3.8 The Fill Color options dialog box
Notice that you have options for a transparent object (No Fill), for an object filled with any one
of a range of colors, or you can fill a shape or object with a Fill Effect. Let's try each of these
options now.
Start by drawing a rectangle on the blank page that you should have already
open on the screen, then click on the small arrow next to the Fill Color tool
to bring up the Fill Color options dialog box
Click on any of the 40 colors you see displayed in the dialog box and notice
how your rectangle is filled with the color you chose
Click again on the small arrow next to the Fill Color tool and this time select
the option for More Fill Colors…
You should now see the Standard and Custom Colors dialog box illustrated in Fig. 3.9.
Fig. 3.9 The Standard Colors dialog box
86
ESSENTIAL MICROSOFT OFFICE XP: Tutorial for Teachers
Copyright © Bernard Poole, Lorrie Jackson, Rebecca Randall, 2002. All rights reserved
The Standard Colors palette gives you a selection of 256 colors to choose from. All you do is
click on a color in the palette. You'll see the New color immediately displayed in the box in the
lower right corner of the dialog box so you can compare it to the Current color. Try this now…
Click on any color you like, check the New and Current color box to verify
your selection, then click OK to see the new color of the rectangle
You can also set the Transparency of the Fill Color, thus allowing a drawing object that is
hidden behind a shape to show through. Let's try this too…
Select the Oval tool in the Drawing Toolbar and draw an oval so that it
overlaps the rectangle to some extent
Click on the small arrow next to the Fill Color tool and, from the Fill Color
options dialog box, select the option for More Fill Colors…
Fill the oval shape with any color you like from the Standard Colors palette
and click OK
Notice how it completely obscures the part of the rectangle that it overlaps.
Now select the Fill Color options in the Drawing Toolbar, select the option
for More Fill Colors…, and this time drag the Transparency slider box at
least half way across so you have at least a 50% transparency, then click on
OK
Neat, huh? The oval shape looks like a piece of glass or transparent plastic or sheer silk. If the
256 colors of the Standard Colors palette aren't enough for you, you can use the Custom Colors
palette instead (Fig. 3.10).
Look here to
check out the
new color as
compared with
the original
Use the
crosshair and
the slider
to select the
precise color
you want
Fig. 3.10 The Custom Colors palette
Lesson 3: The Office Drawing Tools
87
To access the Custom Colors palette select the Fill Color options in the
Drawing Toolbar, select the option for More Fill Colors…, and click on the
Custom tab
Hold onto your seat, OK? Believe it or not, the Custom Color palette allows you choose from
any of over 16 million different colors! Let's try this now…
Spend a few moments using the color mixers in the Custom Colors palette
to practice creating some of the colors available to you
Fill Effects
There are Fill Effects you can use along with color to improve the appearance of the objects you
draw. Let's try some of them now…
Make sure you still have the oval shape selected, bring up the Fill Color
options in the Drawing Toolbar, then select the option for Fill Effects…
(Fig. 3.11)
Fig. 3.11 The Fill Effects dialog box
Gradients
This is the first of the tab options in the Fill Effects dialog box. Let’s spend a few minutes
checking out some of gradients first. There are quite a few options to try, and it’s a good idea to
experiment with as many of them as you can so that you get a feel for what you can do.
ESSENTIAL MICROSOFT OFFICE XP: Tutorial for Teachers
Copyright © Bernard Poole, Lorrie Jackson, Rebecca Randall, 2002. All rights reserved
88
Try each of the various options (One color, Two colors, Preset, and
Shading Styles), clicking on OK after you select each one so you can see
how the gradients affect the appearance of the oval shape
Check out the Preset options especially; some of them are quite impressive
Notice that the transparency tool is also an option that you can use with gradients.
Textures
This time, click on the rectangle shape to select it, bring up the Fill Color
options in the Drawing Toolbar, then select the option for Fill Effects…
Next click on the textures tab towards the top of the Fill Effects dialog box
and try some of the built-in textures that come with the Drawing Tools
Click on OK after choosing each texture so you can see how it looks in the
rectangle shape
Notice that you can select textures that you may have created yourself or downloaded from the
web, for example, and saved on disk. Notice, too, that you need to set the transparency of the
shape ahead of time if you want a transparent effect with a texture. The same applies to the
Patterns and Picture effects that you learn about next.
Patterns
You can fill more than one shape at the same time.
Hold down the Shift key while clicking on both the oval shape and the
rectangle shape
Notice that you can see the handles around both shapes now.
Bring up the Fill Color options in the Drawing Toolbar, then select again
the option for Fill Effects…
This time, click on the Pattern tab to display the set of pre-defined patterns
you also can use to fill a shape
Notice that you can vary the foreground and background colors of the patterns, too.
Try some of the patterns now, selecting different colors before clicking on OK
to check out the different patterns in the oval and rectangle shapes
Filling Shapes with Pictures
Finally, you can fill a shape with any picture or image that you have saved on disk.
Open Internet Explorer and go to http://www.pitt.edu/~poole
In the left hand frame of my home page you'll see my name at the bottom of the set of menu
options.
Click on my name (Bernie Poole) and you'll see a picture of me in my office
(no comments, please!)
Right click on my picture and from the menu select the option to Save
Picture As… and save the picture on the desktop for now (the picture has
the file name dayone)
Lesson 3: The Office Drawing Tools
89
Now you're ready to fill a shape with my picture.
Start by clicking anywhere off the oval and rectangle shapes to deselect
them, then click on just the oval shape
In the Drawing Toolbar, bring up the Fill Color options, and select the
option for More Fill Colors
Set the Transparency to zero percent (0%), then click on OK
Now, in the Drawing Toolbar, bring up the Fill Color options, and select the
option for Fill Effects…, click on the Picture tab, then click on the Select
Picture… button
You are now prompted to select the picture that you'd like to use to fill the highlighted shape (the
oval).
In the dialog box asking you to find the picture you want to use, select the
desktop and double click on dayone (it's a jpeg file)
Hey presto! You've just created a cameo of your favorite professor! You now know all about
using colors, patterns and other Fill Effects. All that remains is to try out the Shadow Style and
3-D Style tools. These are located at the far right end of the Drawing Toolbar. They're both easy
enough to use. It'll be easiest to see the effect of these tools if you have both shapes selected.
Use the Shift key to select both shapes together
Click on the Shadow Style tool and try out a few of the styles in the pop up
menu of Shadow Styles
Notice how the shadows are the same for both the selected objects. This is a good way to add
consistent shading and depth to a drawing you're creating. The same applies to 3-D effects.
Click on the 3-D Style tool and try out a few of the styles in the pop up menu
of 3-D Styles
Very simple, and very effective.
3.5 GROUPING, ORDERING, AND ALIGNING OBJECTS
You've probably noticed that when you put one shape, or drawing object, on top of another, it
stays there, overlapping the other shape, as with the oval and rectangle shapes in the previous
exercises.
With the Drawing Tools, every object you create is always separate from the other objects on
the page. Even though you can group objects together, as we'll see in a moment, you can always
ungroup them because they are like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle or a deck of cards. You can group
the jigsaw pieces by fitting them together, or you can group the cards in a deck by gathering
them into a pack of cards, or you can ungroup them. Let's see how this works.
It will be easiest to do the next exercise if you zoom out on the page. This will allow you to
view the whole page on the screen.
In the Standard toolbar at the top of the Word window, use the zoom tool to
zoom out to 50%
90
ESSENTIAL MICROSOFT OFFICE XP: Tutorial for Teachers
Copyright © Bernard Poole, Lorrie Jackson, Rebecca Randall, 2002. All rights reserved
There, now you can see what you're doing.
In the Drawing Toolbar, go to the AutoShapes menu and, from the Basic
Shapes, select the Octagon
Draw an octagon (not too big) so that some part of it overlaps either the oval
or the rectangle or both, but doesn't actually hide either the oval or the
rectangle—make sure you can still see at least a piece of all three shapes
Fill the octagon with any color you like (different from the oval and rectangle
colors)
Now use the Line Style tool to increase the thickness of the octagon's border
to at least 6pt
Use the Line Color tool to select a different color and effect for the border
than the plain black default color
Repeat the same steps to draw a small parallelogram, trapezoid, diamond,
and triangle (again making sure none of the objects actually hides any of the
others completely—you should be able to see a piece of all seven (7) shapes
when you're done)
So now you should have on your page (screen) seven different shapes with seven different fill
colors and various other effects. The reason you need to be able to see at least a piece of each
shape is to make it easier for you to do the next exercise. If you wanted to, you could completely
cover one shape with another. It just depends what you want to do.
Grouping the drawing objects
Grouping objects
Right now, all the objects are separate—ungrouped. Let's group them into three groups.
First, click anywhere off all the shapes so that none of them is selected
Using the mouse, and holding the Shift key down, click on the oval shape
and the rectangle shape
Now, from the Draw menu select the Group option
Check your drawings now and notice that the oval and rectangle shapes have just one set of
handles. Now you can treat them as one object and move them around on the screen as one
object, independently of the other objects. Complete the following steps to create groups of the
other objects.
Again, click anywhere off all the shapes so that none of them is selected
Using the mouse, and holding the Shift key down, click on the trapezoid
shape and the Triangle shape
From the Draw menu select the Group option
Lesson 3: The Office Drawing Tools
91
Next, click anywhere off all the shapes so that none of them is selected
Using the mouse, and holding down the Shift key, click on the remaining
independent shapes: the octagon shape, the parallelogram shape, and the
diamond shape
From the Draw menu select the Group option
Check your drawings, click on each group in turn, and slide them around
on the page
Notice that each group now has just one set of handles and that they move as a group. You can
even rotate them as a group.
Try this now by clicking on any of the three groups, grabbing the small green
handle and rotating the grouped shapes
This is often very useful when you create a complicated drawing using several objects, like lines
and shapes, and you want to move them all around together or rotate them as one object. Just
group them all together, and Bob's your uncle! You'll have a chance to practice this when you
do the exercises at the end of the lesson.
Ungrouping objects
This is easy.
First, click anywhere off all the shapes so that none of them is selected
Click on the oval and rectangle shape and from the Draw menu select the
Ungroup option
Look at the oval and rectangle shapes now and notice that all the handles for each shape have
reappeared.
Now click anywhere off the oval and rectangle shapes so that neither of
them is selected
Click on just the oval shape and notice that it is now independent of the
rectangle shape
Repeat this to ungroup all the other objects—be sure to ungroup them all for
the sake of the following exercises; it'll also give you extra practice and,
remember, Practice makes perfect!
Ordering the drawing objects
The order of the shapes right now should still be the same as the order in which you created
them. So the rectangle is in the back, the oval on top of the rectangle, and so forth. Think of the
objects as layered one of top of the other—even if they aren't actually touching.
You can quickly move (re-order) objects backward or forward in the layers. To do this, you
select the object you want to re-order and then select the appropriate option in the Draw menu.
Time to try this out; then you'll see how it works.
92
ESSENTIAL MICROSOFT OFFICE XP: Tutorial for Teachers
Copyright © Bernard Poole, Lorrie Jackson, Rebecca Randall, 2002. All rights reserved
Click to select the oval shape first, then pull up the Draw menu in the
Drawing Toolbar and select the Order option in the menu (Fig. 3.12)
Fig. 3.12 The Order option in the Draw menu
Slide the pointer across to the Order sub-menu and select the option to
Bring to Front (Fig. 3.12)
Look at the oval shape now and notice that it's on top of all the other shapes. As you can see
from the Order options illustrated in Fig. 3.10, you can bring objects forward or send them back,
either one layer at a time, or all the way forward or all the way back in one go.
Try this now with several of the objects, using each one of the Order
options till you get the hang of it
The beauty of these drawing tools is that they give you lots of control and make it really easy for
you to create very sophisticated designs—once you know how to use them, and that's what this
tutorial is all about. You won't be an expert by the time you're done with this tutorial, but you
will know what you're doing. It's then up to you to use the tools a lot till you become an expert,
and then you'll be able to make them really sing!
Aligning the drawing objects
The Drawing Tools in Office come with some useful alignment tools which save you dragging
drawing objects into place on the page when your goal is to align them symmetrically on the
right or left, and so forth. You can align objects relative to the canvas or relative to each other.
Best way to see how this works is try it for yourself. The following steps show you how to do
this.
Aligning objects relative to the canvas
Lesson 3: The Office Drawing Tools
First, click anywhere off all the shapes so that none of them is selected
Now click on the parallelogram, hold down the Shift key, and click on the
triangle so you have both shapes selected
Go to the Draw menu in the Drawing Toolbar and select the option for Align
or Distribute
This will bring up the Align or Distribute sub-menu (Fig. 3.13)
Fig. 3.13 The Align or Distribute option in the Draw menu
Make sure you have a check mark next to Relative to Canvas
Now you need to bring up the Draw menu again, and select the option to
Align or Distribute
Select the option to Align Left, and notice how the two shapes are snapped
to the left edge of the canvas
Now click on the rectangle, hold down the Shift key, and click on the
octagon so you have both shapes selected
Go to the Draw menu in the Drawing Toolbar, select the option for Align or
Distribute, then select the option Align Right
Try this on your own now with the remaining objects
Aligning objects relative to each other
93
94
ESSENTIAL MICROSOFT OFFICE XP: Tutorial for Teachers
Copyright © Bernard Poole, Lorrie Jackson, Rebecca Randall, 2002. All rights reserved
Once again, click anywhere off all the shapes so that none of them is
selected
Click on the parallelogram, hold down the Shift key, and click on the
triangle so you have both shapes selected
Go back to the Draw menu in the Drawing Toolbar and select the option for
Align or Distribute
This time remove the check mark next to Relative to Canvas
Now you need to bring up the Draw menu again, and select the option to
Align or Distribute
Select the option to Align Left, and notice how the two shapes are snapped
to line up with the leftmost of the two objects you have selected
Now click on the rectangle, hold down the Shift key, and click on the
octagon so you have both shapes selected
Go to the Draw menu in the Drawing Toolbar, select the option for Align or
Distribute, then select the option Align Right
Try this on your own now with the remaining objects
You can align all the objects at once, or you can align them one, two, or three at a time. It just
depends on what you have in mind.
3.6 WORKING WITH TEXT AND WORDART
It will be easiest to clear the page and start over for this part of the tutorial.
Click on each of the objects and hit the Backspace or Del(ete) key to remove
them from the page
Using the Text Box tool
Zoom back out to 75% so you can see what you’re doing
In the Drawing Toolbar, click on the Text Box tool, then click anywhere on
the page
Type your first and last name in the Text Box that appears on the screen,
hit Enter, then type the following text and notice as you go along that you
have to make the box bigger to fit all the text—just stretch on the handles to
do this so you can see what you're typing:
The beauty of these drawing tools is that they give you
lots of control and make it really easy for you to
create very sophisticated designs—once you know
how to use them, and that's what this tutorial is all
about. You won't be an expert by the time you're
Lesson 3: The Office Drawing Tools
95
done with this tutorial, but you will know what you're
doing. It's then up to you to use the tools a lot till you
become an expert. Only then will you be able to make
them really sing!
When you finish typing, make any final adjustments to the box to make it big
enough so everything fits nicely
Play with the handles, stretching the Text box up and down and from side to
side, which means that you can make the Text Box any shape you want to fit
the rest of the drawing you're creating
Using the WordArt tool
WordArt is a set of graphic fonts that add a touch of flair or pizzazz to your text. Best way to
see what that means is to try it for yourself.
Click on the border of the Text Box object (not inside the Text Box because
then Word will think you want to edit the text) then hit the Backspace or
Del(ete) key to remove it from the page
In the Drawing Toolbar, click on the WordArt tool
This brings up the WordArt Gallery (Fig. 3.14) from which you can choose whichever style of
font graphics appeals to you.
Fig. 3.14 The WordArt Gallery
96
ESSENTIAL MICROSOFT OFFICE XP: Tutorial for Teachers
Copyright © Bernard Poole, Lorrie Jackson, Rebecca Randall, 2002. All rights reserved
Take a look at the various styles in the WordArt Gallery, then select one that
you like by clicking on it (you can easily change it later if you change your
mind), then click on OK
Type your first and last name in the WordArt Text Box that appears on the
screen (Fig. 3.15), select any font you like from the drop down Font menu,
leave the size as is for now (36 pt), and click OK
Fig. 3.15 The WordArt Gallery
What do you think? Are these drawing tools useful, or what? There are a couple of other things
you can do with the WordArt. Let's try some of them now.
Click on the WordArt of your name to bring up the WordArt Toolbar (Fig.
3.16)
Use this
tool to
edit
your
text
Use this
Use this
Use this tool if you
tool to
tool to
format
want to
Use this
change the wrap text
your
tool to
around
change WordArt shape of
(color, your Word
your
your
Art
WordArt
WordArt size, etc.)
style
Use this
tool if you
want the
WordArt
letters to
have the
same height
Use this
tool if you
want your
WordArt to
run
vertically
down the
Fig. 3.16 The annotated WordArt Gallery
With your WordArt selected, take a few minutes to try out each of these
WordArt tools—you'll be amazed at what you can do!
LOOKING BACK
Lesson 3: The Office Drawing Tools
97
You have practiced using the drawing tools that are built into the Word word processor. If this
has been the first time you've used these tools, you may have found them awkward at first since
manipulating them involves a new set of skills. But like everything else, the more you use the
tools, the more skilled you will become. This lesson is merely an introduction and overview
The document Term Paper now looks quite professional. The important awareness you
should get from this tutorial is that you have a tool in Word which can greatly enhance your
ability to produce quality documents of all kinds—flyers, correspondence, papers, newspapers,
ditto masters, and so forth.
Think of the effect on your students, too. A major objective for you as a teacher is to create
and sustain an environment in which your students will be motivated to learn. A piece of
software such as Word on a computer such as the Windows computer or an Intel-based computer
can surely help you in this task.
Many users of word processors are content to use the computer like a glorified typewriter. To
some extent this is understandable since, inevitably, there is a learning curve involved in
mastering more advanced skills. Now that you have completed this tutorial, however, remember
where you learned each of these new functions. Practice them whenever you use the word
processor. Practice makes perfect, and in no time at all you will be able to set these tutorials
aside. Then you can enjoy the thrill of teaching these skills to your students, thus putting into
their hands the tools to grow as creative writers. Then, indeed, as in so many other ways, you
will "touch their future," because good communication skills are absolutely the key to success in
this Information Age.
LOOKING FORWARD
Lesson 6 will give you the opportunity to further practice your word processing skills by
integrating them with other Office components, including mail merge. In Lesson 4, however, you
will move on to learn about the Excel Spreadsheet component of Office.
You should be starting to feel reasonably comfortable using the computer. No doubt you find
some of the work tedious, especially that process of backing up all your data. This is because
you are learning the computing skills. When you become proficient with the hardware and
software, you will find that you can complete your work quickly and be more productive with
regard to many of the activities of your profession. You should indeed by now be striking out on
your own, already using Word to support your work in the classroom.
As a teacher you have a responsibility to establish the best possible learning environment for
your students. The best teachers lead by example. If you have worked your way through the first
two of these tutorials, you have increased the chances that your students will benefit from an
enriched learning experience, because of your increased facility with, and enthusiasm for, the
computer. Your use of the computer as a learning tool will inevitably overflow into your
classroom. Well done!
SKILL CONSOLIDATION
Complete as many exercises as you can so as to reinforce what you have learned in Lesson 3.
98
ESSENTIAL MICROSOFT OFFICE XP: Tutorial for Teachers
Copyright © Bernard Poole, Lorrie Jackson, Rebecca Randall, 2002. All rights reserved
1. Make a list of at least 10 handouts or other documents that are relevant to the school
environment for the creation of which you would use the drawing tools.
2. Team up with a group of your classmates and use the Word drawing tools to create at least 5
of the documents from the list you drew up in Exercise 1. Save them on disk.
3. Open a new blank page and in Page Setup select Landscape orientation. Complete the
following tasks:
y Start a new canvas and draw a perfect square, fill it with color, and make the line color
the same as the fill color.
y Draw a perfect circle, fill it with a different color from the square, and make the line
color the same as the fill color.
y Move the circle on top of the square and adjust the size of the circle so it fits exactly
inside the square where the border of the circle touches the border of the square at four
points, north, south, east, and west.
y Group the circle and the square, then rotate the grouped object 45 degrees, so that the
shape resembles a diamond.
y Use the AutoShape of an Octagon to draw an octagon large enough to completely cover
the diamond, fill it with a different color from either the square or the circle, and make
the line color the same as the fill color.
y Move the Octagon shape to the back. Select all the objects and center them on the canvas.
Group the objects.
y Use Word Art to write the following title for the drawing: A Circle inside a Square inside
an Octagon. Save the drawing with the name Geometric Shapes.
4. Open a new blank page and in Page Setup select Landscape orientation. Draw a picture of a
house (yours if you want), including the following items (with colors and effects of your
choosing):
y Stretch the canvas so it's the size of the page. Draw the house itself with at least two
windows and a front door and a separate roof (you'll need to use the freeform drawing
tool for the angled roof so that you can fill it with color and a pattern). The roof must
have shingles, the walls must be of brick or siding (unless you want to draw a log cabin!).
y A front lawn with shrubs and flowers here and there
y At least two trees
y The sky with a couple of clouds scudding by…
y Save the drawing with the name House.
5. Open a new blank page and in Page Setup select Landscape orientation. Stretch the canvas
so it's the size of the page. Draw a picture of a technology-ready classroom. Use clip art, if
you want, for the objects in the classroom, including the items in the list that follows (with
colors and effects of your choosing). Arrange the desks and so forth according to your own
concept of the ideal classroom. Save the drawing with the name House.
y desks for 20 students
y At least 6 computer workstations (position them so the teacher can easily see the screens)
y A desk for the teacher
y A separate computer workstation for the teacher
y A reading center
y Any other items you would want to include in your ideal classroom.
6. Use the AutoShapes menu to draw at least
ten (10) Basic Shapes and use an associated
Callout to name each of them. Fit everything on one side of an 8 ½" by 11" page. Use either
99
Lesson 3: The Office Drawing Tools
Portrait or Landscape orientation. Color the shapes, fonts and callouts with Fill Colors, Font
Colors, and Line Colors.
7. Open a new blank page and in Page Setup select Landscape orientation. Stretch the canvas
so it's the size of the page. Then complete the following tasks:
y In the top left corner of the page, draw a self-portrait as best you can, using colors and so
forth
y Add a callout that looks like it's coming from your mind (see figure below)
y Select all the parts of your drawing and group them together as one object
y Copy the object, then duplicate it 8 times as illustrated in the figure below
y In the callouts, add the text of any story you like
y Save the strip cartoon with the name Strip Cartoon
Hmm…
yada....
Interesting
etc.
yada…
yada…
etc.
and so
forth